The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

"So, the demon god gave you guys power, but at the same time, he also found a way to give you a demerit for that power as well…" Zaos said. "That is weird, why would he give such a demerit? Things would be easy for you if the others didn't hate you so much. Also, why don't I feel anything toward you people?"

"How should I know, maybe you are different from the others in some way, but all humans are supposed to hate us," Derenus said. "As I said, the demerit was to keep us sharp, and ready for battle. But it was also because the demon god was truly hated by the humans, apparently, the more he was hated the stronger he got. So, since we inherited a portion of his power, we have to deal with that." 

"Really?" Zaos frowned. "Still, that doesn't explain why you people suddenly got more powerful and why the others are hating you more."

"That is because the demon god is about to be revived," Derenus said. "Thanks to that, our people have been starting to reunite again."

            Zaos nodded.. He figured as much. Still, based on what Derenus said, the revival didn't seem to have anything to do with them. At least, they didn't do anything to accelerate that.

"You talked like you weren't humans, but apparently, you don't like what we call you," Zaos said. "So, what are you, really?"

"We are halflings of a magic race that has served the demon god since the world came to exist," Derenus said. "That race didn't reproduce as fast as humans, so they solved that problem by getting involved with humans. We are half magic race and half human."

              There were some weird points if compared with the history books, but Zaos knew that it was only natural. After thinking for a while, Zaos recalled some incidents, so he decided to question the old man.

"Are you guys responsible for the kidnappings of newborn babies that now and then happen in the kingdom?" Zaos asked.

"Are you joking?" Derenus asked. "How could we attack the villages and towns of you kingdom when we barely manage to cross the borders?"

"Oh, yeah… that makes sense," Zaos frowned. "How come I never noticed that before? Still, Ameria was almost kidnapped once. Wasn't that your doing?" 

"A few years ago, we indeed paid some assassins to capture the princess of your kingdom, but only that," Derenus said. "We wanted her alive because we would be able to buy some time since many people said that the revival of the demon god was approaching."

            Zaos didn't know if he was telling the truth. Still, after thinking for a while, Zaos realized that killing Ameria would only cause problems for them. That was another thing that made sense.

"Do you know why some newborn kids of your kingdom disappear and their families are found dead?" Derenus asked.

"I didn't mention that, but you are well-informed," Zaos said.

"The answer is in your neck," Derenus said.

            Zaos looked at his neck, but he only found the focus amulet. He couldn't tell what the connection was. Come to think of it… Zaos never tried to ask how to focus amulets were made…

"Remember when I told you that the demon god Cursed the whole world?" Derenus asked. "His gift isn't only given to us, the descendants of the magic race… they are also given to humans."

"... What?" Zaos frowned.

"The humans who are born with the gift of the demon god are a bit different from us, they don't have to deal with the animosity, but they have pretty powerful arcane talents," Derenus said. "Although they are different from us, people in the past always thought that the demon god would be reborn in the body of a human and would destroy humans from inside their society. That is why…"

"Don't say it…. don't say it!" Zaos raised his voice while his eyes were wide with surprise.

"That is why your people capture them and kill their families as soon as they are found," Derenus said. "They blame us for those crimes, but that is just the work of the most powerful families of your kingdom trying to prevent the demon god from trying to destroy the world once more."

            Zaos knew that the kingdom's leaders couldn't be considered good people, but he didn't want to believe that they were that bad. Kidnapping newborn babies and killing their families just out of fear for the demon god was just too much… In a sense, it was even worse than what the followers of the demon god did by using corpses and brainwashing people.

"... I don't believe it, of course you are lying," Zaos said. "You guys brainwash the people that you capture and even use corpses to fight for you."

"I won't deny it, some of us do that," Derenus said. "However, the people who do that are only copying your people."

"What do you mean by that?" Zaos frowned.

"Like I said, the answer is in your neck," Derenus said. "Do you know that only your kingdom produces that kind of amulet? How do you think they do that? It is very simple… They capture us who have the blood of the magic race and then drain out blood. After that, they refine it. Wait for a few days and then the magic liquid will solidify. The interesting thing is the fact that the liquid can be absorbed and our power transferred to people like you."

            Zaos felt like the blood had been drained from his body… that was… beyond his expectations. It was much worse than anything he had imagined. He thought that he was fighting on the right side, but as it turned out, neither side was right.

"You look really surprised," Derenus said. "That confirms it, you are immune to the gift of the demon god. What are you, really?"

".... I am just a guy… who will never step on the battlefield again," Zaos said.